Seen from the sky: Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Seychelles, Air Mauritius, Air France, easyJet, SAS, Eva Air, etc.

Teruel Airport (in Caudé, Aragon, Spain) has become an impromptu refuge for part of Qatar Airways’ fleet. The Doha-based airline has moved 15 aircraft there in response to the threat of Iranian airstrikes. Thirteen Airbus A330s from Doha have already landed at the airport. All were flying with a special code indicating they were not carrying passengers. An Airbus A350 and a Boeing 747 also landed that same day. Octavio López, Minister of Public Works and chairman of the Teruel Airport consortium, said the number of aircraft parked at the facility, fleeing the war in the Middle East, would increase.

Pakistani air traffic control prevented about 30 airliners from entering the Iranian war zone over the past two days, thus averting a major catastrophe, an official said last Friday. “Due to extreme weather conditions, approximately 30 Pakistani airliners nearly entered Iranian war zone airspace on Wednesday and Thursday. The swift intervention of air traffic controllers, and in particular their coordination with the flight information center in Karachi, prevented a tragedy,” stated an official from the Airports Authority of Pakistan (PAA). He explained that the aircraft encountered extreme weather conditions near the Iranian border, creating a very dangerous situation.

Air Seychelles announced the launch of a new direct route between Seychelles and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, marking a significant step in strengthening the archipelago’s international connectivity. Starting March 20, 2026, the airline will operate three weekly direct flights between Mahé and the French capital for an initial period of one month. This new route comes at a time when some airspace closures in the Middle East are disrupting traditional transit routes via Gulf hubs.

Air Mauritius is adding two more flights to Mauritius from Paris-CDG. Responding to growing demand on the Paris-Mauritius route, the airline is strengthening its offering by adding two additional non-stop flights from Paris-CDG on April 22 and 29, 2026. These two additional flights, in addition to the four additional flights already announced on March 11, 2026, represent a total capacity of more than 3,600 seats in codeshare with Air France, and will offer passengers more travel options while ensuring the continuity and resilience of the airline’s European operations.

Southwest Airlines has added the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways to its network of international partners, and tickets are now available, the airline confirmed. The inter-carrier agreement includes connections via the carriers’ shared hubs in Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, according to a Southwest spokesperson. Since announcing its first international partner, Icelandair, in September 2024, Southwest has added partnerships with China Airlines, EVA Air, Philippine Airlines, Condor, and Turkish Airlines.

The U.S. airline lobby group Airlines for America sent an open letter to Congress on March 15, signed by the CEOs of its member airlines, urging the government to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since February 14. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), most of whom are considered essential workers but are no longer being paid due to the partial government shutdown. In addition, more than 300 TSA employees have left the agency. In its letter, Airlines for America also urged the adoption of the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers’ salaries regardless of government funding levels, as well as the Keep America Flying Act, which would offer the same protections to TSA agents. Signatories to the letter included the CEOs of Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.

British Airways announced a major network expansion plan for winter 2026, increasing its long-haul flights by nine percent* as the airline continues to invest in new destinations.